Film

Jason X

Name: Jason X
Genre: Horror, Science Fiction
Released: 2001
Cast: Lexa Doig, Lisa Ryder, Chuck Campbell, Jonathan Potts, Peter Mensah

Slasher

Jason X launches the slasher into space—literally to the future, where the unkillable killer wakes up aboard a starship. It's gloriously, unironically absurd: a film that stops taking itself seriously and just has fun with the premise. Perfect for anyone who loves horror but wants to laugh while watching it, or who's exhausted by grim seriousness and wants something that swings for the fences.

TMDb rating

2.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like your slasher sequels gleefully ridiculous, the kind that swap the summer camp for a spaceship and let the body count climb with a grin, then cheerfully outdo themselves.

Skip it if you need real dread or a serious sci-fi mood, since the jokes and cartoonish kills deflate any tension and the plot is largely an excuse for the gore.

What it asks of you: A brisk 91 minutes of quick setups and quicker kills, asking little more than a willingness to laugh at the silliness and go along with the nonsense.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI1986

The moment the franchise realized it could be fun. Jason comes back as an undead tank, the kills are creative, and it winks at the audience without breaking the spell. This is where Jason X learned to stop apologizing.

But It's still a slasher from 1986, so the acting and dialogue haven't aged into charm. If you need grounded horror, this isn't it.

Jason Lives - Friday the 13th Part VI poster

Evil Dead II1987

Sam Raimi's masterclass in marrying horror and comedy without either eating the other. Genuinely scary and genuinely hilarious, often in the same scene. The template Jason X tries to follow, done by someone who invented the move.

But It's deliberately unhinged and goofy in ways that can feel dated. Also pretty gory—the humour doesn't make the violence squeamish.

Leprechaun1993

A slasher villain franchise that leans full-tilt into absurdity and knows exactly what it is. Warwick Davis as a murderous leprechaun is committed in a way that makes it work. It's dumb and it knows it, which is its strength.

But The humour is broad and the budget shows. If you need production values or subtlety, walk past this one.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Jason X

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Videodrome1983

Both films are built on the principle of escalation—how far can you push a premise before it breaks? They're both gleefully willing to junk plausibility for the next weird idea. Jason X in space has the same DNA as Videodrome's unhinged fever dream.

David Cronenberg's film about reality breaking down through screens and image. It's genuinely unsettling, hallucinatory, and shares Jason X's willingness to ask 'what if we just went THERE?' The body horror is inventive and wrong in fascinating ways. A film that doesn't respect the rules.

But It's deliberately confusing and gross in ways that have nothing to do with action. If you need clarity or conventional narrative, this will frustrate you. Also deeply 80s in its aesthetic, which some find dated.

Hellraiser1987

Clive Barker's vision of cosmic horror with a serial killer engine. Imaginative, transgressive, and genuinely unsettling—it takes its premise seriously and commits fully. Influences everything that followed in slasher mythology.

But It's intensely violent and sexual in ways that aren't played for laughs. The body horror can be difficult. Also slower and moodier than Jason X, which might feel like a comedown.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors1987

Freddy Krueger's franchise understood that a villain with personality wins. This sequel has style, creative kills, and Freddy's one-liners land because the film actually has craft behind them. Proof that horror-comedy works when you hire people who can direct.

But The 80s aesthetic is very pronounced. Also, it assumes you know the first two films, so there's context you might miss.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors poster

The Cabin in the Woods2012

A film that loves horror so much it deconstructs and reconstructs it in real time. It's a love letter to the genre wrapped in a metafilm that's also genuinely scary. Smart without being smug, and the third act is a joyride.

But It spoils itself if anyone mentions the premise. Best watched knowing nothing except that it's clever. Also violent in brutal ways.

Tucker and Dale vs. Evil2010

A horror-comedy that inverts slasher tropes by making the 'killers' the heroes. Funny, charming, and genuinely heartfelt. It understands why we watch these films and uses that knowledge to surprise us.

But If you want pure horror, this is too much comedy. The tonal balance won't work for everyone, and it's lighter than Jason X in most ways.

Sleepaway Camp1983

An 80s slasher that builds real atmosphere and has an unforgettable twist ending. It's trashy but committed, and the 'why' of the violence is stranger and darker than most Friday the 13th entries.

But The acting is rough, the pacing drags in the middle, and the ending hinges on a premise that modern audiences might find uncomfortable. Also genuinely depressing.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan1989

Jason in New York City sounds like a premise for a joke, and the film occasionally knows it. More bonkers than most entries, with set pieces that are weird enough to be memorable. Peak Friday the 13th absurdity before self-awareness.

But The title is a lie—he spends most of the film on a boat. The plot is messy, the dialogue is clunky, and it's dated in unflattering ways.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan poster

Scanners1981

Like Jason X, Scanners takes a high-concept premise (psychic powers, unstoppable killer in space) and refuses to be embarrassed by it. Both films believe completely in their silliness, which is what makes them work. That commitment to the bit is everything.

Cronenberg again, because this is the film that proves sci-fi horror can be about ideas AND viscera. Telekinetic spies in a corporate conspiracy, and the body horror erupts naturally from the central conceit. It's fast, brutal, and endlessly inventive.

But The plot is convoluted and the acting is stiff. It also predates modern action cinema, so the pacing feels measured in ways that won't appeal to everyone. Graphic violence throughout.

Starship Troopers1997

Both films understand that genre excess can be a form of honesty. Jason X doesn't pretend to be serious; Starship Troopers pretends to be propaganda. They're both using the machinery of their genre to say something—Jason X says 'this is fun,' and Starship Troopers says 'look what happens when spectacle becomes policy.' Same muscle, different message.

Paul Verhoeven's film about fascism wrapped in a sci-fi action movie is both thrilling and smarter than it looks. It's violent, satirical, and genuinely fun—the kind of film that respects the audience enough to let them see both the spectacle and the critique.

But The satire is heavy-handed for some people. Also very of its moment politically, which can read dated. And the CG has aged rough—it was cutting edge in 1997 and now it shows.